Shakhtarsk Raion ( uk, Шахтарський район) was one of the

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...

s of

Donetsk Oblast The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...

, located in eastern

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The administrative center of the raion was the city of

Shakhtarsk Shakhtarsk (, ) or Shakhtyorsk (russian: Шахтёрск) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Regionally, the city is an administrative urban enclave also consisting of cities Torez and Snizhne and surrounded by Shakhtarsk Raion. It serves ...

, which was incorporated separately as a city of oblast significance and was not part of the raion. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Donetsk Oblast to eight. However the raion has not been under control of the Ukrainian government since 2014, and has been part of the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...

which in 2015 abolished it and subordinated to the city of Shakhtarsk. The last estimate of the raion population, reported by the Ukrainian government, was .

Location

Shakhtarsk Raion was located in the eastern part of

and to its southeast it had an international border with

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. To its east it borders

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...

. To the south is

Amvrosiivka Raion Amvrosiivka Raion ( uk, Амвросіївський район, translit.: ''Amvrosiivs'kyi raion''; russian: Амвросиевский район, translit.: ''Amvrosievskiy raion'') was a raion (district) within the eastern part of Donetsk O ...

, and to its north,

Bakhmut Raion Bakhmut Raion ( uk, Бахмутський район, Bakhmutskyi raion) is a raion (district) within the northeastern part of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Bakhmut. Its area is , and its population is approximat ...

. To the west of Shakhtars Raion stretched a chain of several cities with separate regional-level self-government such as

Makiivka Makiivka ( uk, Макіївка, Makíyivka, ; russian: Макеевка, Makeyevka, ), formerly Dmytriivsk, is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Located from the capital Donetsk, the two cities are practically a conurbati ...

Khartsyzk Khartsyzk or Khartsyzsk (, ; rus, Харцызск, p=xɐrˈt͡sɨsk) is a city of regional significance in Ukraine. The city has a population of Population: History Starting Mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists took control of several t ...

Yenakieve Yenakiieve ( uk, Єна́кієве, ''Yenákiieve'', ; russian: Ена́киево, ''Yenákiyevo'') is a city in the Donetsk Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. It is incorporated as a city of oblast significance (a special status within ...

Zhdanivka Zhdanivka or Zhdanovka (, ; ) is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city has a population of History Starting Mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists cap ...

. The raion also completely surrounded the cities of

Torez Chystiakove ( uk, Чистякове, ), formerly Torez ( uk, Торез), is a city of regional significance in the Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine. The city is a center of the regional coal industry and much of its economy relies on mining industr ...

, and

Snizhne Snizhne or Snezhnoye ( uk, Сніжне́, ; russian: Снежное; until 1864 — Vasylivka — uk, Василівка) is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The eastern edge of Snizhne is adjacent to administrative border ...

War in Donbas

Shakhtarsk Raion had one international border crossing with the

, Marynivka - Kuibyshevo. On June 5, 2014 the

Government of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

was forced to close the border crossing, due to multiple reports of unsanctioned crossings by militants from the

. On June 6, 2014 intense fighting erupted at the Marynivka border checkpoint between Ukrainian border guards and militants who tried to cross into Ukraine from the

. During the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

several battles took place around the

Savur-Mohyla Savur-Mohyla ( uk, Савур-могила), often transliterated using the Russian spelling Saur-Mogila (russian: Саур-Могила), is a strategic height in the Donets ridge near the city of Snizhne, in occupied Ukraine. The tall hill is ...

heights. The obelisk of the Savur-Mohyla Soviet memorial is depicted on the coat of arms and flag of Shakhtarsk Raion. The

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...

, remnants of which scattered around the village of Hrabove, went down within the area of the raion. On August 10–11, 2014 Ukrainian media claimed that the village of Stepanivka was completely destroyed by

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first comba ...

multi-rocket launcher systems fired from the territory of the

Demographics

As of the

2001 Ukrainian Census The Ukrainian Census of 2001 is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989.

, the majority of residents are ethnic Ukrainians and speak Ukrainian as their first language:

References

Former raions of Donetsk Oblast 1965 establishments in Ukraine Ukrainian raions abolished during the 2020 administrative reform {{Donetsk-geo-stub